Chicken Parmesan

Posted by: Maggie

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What you'll need:

4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thickness
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
seasoned bread crumbs
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
8 slices mozzarella cheese, or more
1 16 oz jar marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese

Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in milk and egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish. Slice 8 pieces of mozzarella cheese and put two on each chicken breast. Pour 1 jar of marinara sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a little more mozzarella and bake at 350° for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. I served with garlic bread, salad, and linguine tossed with olive oil, oregano, and garlic.

Frosted Sugar Cookies

Posted by: Maggie

DC got record breaking snowfall starting Friday morning, that lasted until late Saturday afternoon. Our city is notoriously ill-equipped when it comes do dealing with snow and ice, so some friends, my boyfriend, and myself holed up in the Beacon Hotel in Dupont Circle all weekend to ride out the storm, instead of being stranded in our respective apartments all alone.

I wanted to contribute something sweet to our festivities, so I made these cookies Thursday night. My friends ended up gobbling them up in about 30 minutes flat, so suffice to say they were a baking success.

These are a rare cookie that is WAY better the day after. They taste overly sweet and average all around until the icing has a chance to harden overnight, so if you're bringing them somewhere don't hesitate to get them out of the way 24 hours ahead of time. I decorated these with a Valentine's Day theme, but will definitely be making them again for St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, Halloween...pretty much any holiday that has a defined color scheme!

What you'll need:

Sugar Cookies -
1 1/4 c white sugar
1 cup salted butter (softened)
3 egg yolks
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together butter and sugar, and beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

Stir together dry ingredients, and gradually incorporate into butter mixture.

Roll into walnut sized balls, and bake for 9-10 minutes, until edges are just set. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

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Royal Icing -
4 cups powdered sugar
2 T meringue powder (I got mine online from Wilton)
5 T. Water

Combine all ingredients, and mix with an electric mixer (essential for this recipe) for about 5 minutes, or until matte. Gradually add more water in very small increments until it reaches a consistency appropriate for piping onto the cookies.

I probably added 2 T, to get a consistency thinner than cake frosting, but thicker than melted chocolate. You don't want it to run all over the cookies, but you want it to be thin enough so that after it's piped on it spreads out and appears smooth.

If you're not using the icing immediately, transfer it to an air tight container, because it dries out quickly. If using immediately, go ahead and tint with gel icing colors (also available from the Wilton online store, and at some grocery stores) and fill pastry bag.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a round #12 decorating tip, frost the cookies, and decorate immediately with sprinkles, if desired.

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Barbeque Chicken Calzones

Posted by: Maggie

My boyfriend loves anything with barbeque sauce, and when we order takeout he typically gets a calzone, so I probably should have made this recipe a long time ago. As I expected, he loved it, and it was so easy to make that I'll definitely be preparing it again, and possibly experimenting with different fillings.


Here's what you'll need:

4 slices bacon
1/2 small red onion, chopped
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat (I used about 4 1/2 chicken breasts to get this amount)
2/3 c barbeque sauce
1 can refrigerated pizza dough (between a 10-13 oz size)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside. Add the onion and shredded chicken to the hot bacon grease in the pan. Fry over medium heat until the onion is tender. Stir in 1/3 c of the barbeque sauce and remove from heat. Stir in the cooked bacon.

Roll the pizza crust dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Press out to an even thickness, and cut in half. Divide the chicken mixture between the two pieces of dough, spreading on only half of each piece to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the filling.

Sprinkle the cheese and cilantro over the top. Fold over uncovered portion of dough, and pinch edges to seal. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned to your liking.

I served these with extra barbeque sauce and ranch dressing for dipping.